I have been riding indoors lately and the track I ride at a lot as a big table that throws you up more than long. I have been trying to work up to clearing. I have gotten really close the last couple of times. However, after riding my back has been really tight. Mostly my upper back. The suspension is not clanging and seems to feel pretty good. I notice this last time that the pain was very sharp and seems to be where my Leatt brace ends. Could this be causing it? Any other ideas?

Flat landing bigger jumps is rough on your body and the bike. My guess is, your helmet is moving and slapping into your leatt on landing, especially if your table hight is too high.

Or, it could be a coincidence.

That is kind of what I was thinking. I Had a buddy video tape me that session. Watching the video it looks like I am very close to clearing it. I just need to commit to it. Hopefully I can get it next time and have no more back pain.

What track is it Earlywine?

Eric1231 said:

if you are close, you just need to commit and it will be smooth sailing once you hit the downslope! maybe try and click up a gear before the jump,might make it easier

Here is the Youtube link.

I hope to race C-class this summer. So any suggestion would be helpful

looking good already, props for posting up video, especially non helmetcam . You will get much more useful advice.

It's hard for me to tell with the other bikes in the back ground, but it seems to me like you have quite a few more rpms at your disposal. Are you hitting it in second? Looks like another bike length forward and you will be on the sweet spot. It all starts from that corner so if you can carry more rpms through that corner or get them higher before you leave the face, you should be golden.
If nothing else is working, try squaring up the the corner before the corner before it, closer to the inside so when you clear the double, you will be set up on the outside before the table.

Other random stuff to work on: standing later into the corner while your breaking, it makes it easier to use front and rear brakes simultaneously. And don't be afraid to rev the bike out.

Thanks for the advice. I am hitting it in second. I am riding the entire track in second. I have lots of rpm left!!! I will work on standing more and carrying more speed thru the corner.

I find it amazing how the human body can learn and adjust to the sensation of speed! I don't want to turn this into a sicentific and math fourm, so I won't but to truly explain it I think that's what it takes.
You every watch an experienced racer (say A class or better) look at a jump for the first time? This person has never seen this jump before, never seen anybody jump it before and after one time rolling it they nail it perfect the second attempt. That comes from seat time, and your brains ability to draw on every experience jumping it has every had. I could ramble on for every about this, but to put it in direct terms for you, you will need to learn from your experience. When you come up short and that is not what you want in this case, you need to adjust with more distance, you generally get that with more speed. Now is when you need to rely on your long term experience and your short term recent sensation of the previous attempt and make adjustments from there.
To say it simply, I believe you need to get on the throttle just a few feet sooner and turn the throttle just a little farther to get more speed and the few extra feet you need to land on the down side.

kx450f63, on 20 January 2012 - 05:08 AM, said:

It is a amazing how the mind. If I really focus on it I twist the throttle just a little bit further and go a little further. Truly If I was not limiting myself I could clear it easily if I just held it wide open. However, my mind only lets me take a small step at a time. Any thoughts on over coming this?

Eric1231, on 20 January 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

ride as much and as many different tracks as you can. Do you ever hit other jumps with the bike wound out?

Eric1231, on 20 January 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

I don't believe it has anything to do with holding it wide open.

I have a friend who rode just like you! Its a spitting image of your riding, you guys could be the same person, he rides a YZ250F though.

What we worked on with him was maintaining more speed and being in the right part of the powerband for the section of the track. He went from being a 3rd gear rider, shifting rarely. To shifting in every corner, to using the meat of the powerband and just understanding WHERE the power comes from, is the problem. Yes you ride a lazy 4 stroke, but as pointed out above, you're not even using 1/2 your RPM range. That thing should be screamin' hitting those jumps, not just coasting. So open it up, let her breathe a bit and you'll clear those jumps right away.

Thats one thing I don't like about 250 4 strokes, the power is so smooth, you can be SO lazy on them, you get use to that laziness and you don't progress quickly unless you get cattle prodded. On my lil 125, if you arn't in the proper power range, you might as well get off the bike and go home, as it won't go anywhere.

Thanks for posting the video, that lil indoor track looks like fun. I'd love to have one of those here for the summer, have it air conditioned, woot!

Eric1231, on 20 January 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

Gary Semics says it best... but I will make mention of it the best I can, Fear is a natural buit in safety mechanism. You may or may not feel like you are scared but that is most likely the issue, you fear the potential negative outcome. Unfortunately in MX we need to get out of our comfort zone to get faster. When you push out of your comfort zone for long enough you become comfortable with that speed and that becomes your new comfort zone. Then push out again for long enough and the cycle continues and you get faster and faster. Of course it souds much easier and I can type it much easier than it actually is. The idea is that your skill and mental capacity increases with experience and every time you push out of your comfort zone.

So basically you need to just trust your instinct and just do it or not just do it and wait until your instinct says your ready.

I have a 10 year old that I work with on this very issue. I watch him ride and know he is more than ready as far as his skill level goes to handle just about any situation on a MX track but it comes down to if he knows he is ready. One day he may be jumping a 100 foot table in fourth gear on the pipe (see link ) and the next day he won't jump a 60 tripple at a little indoor track. If I didn't think his skill level was adequate to perform a certain task I would work with him until it is, but if I know he has the skill for the task and he still won't do it, I work on his mental game until he does it.

The reason most of us do this is because it's fun. Some people have more fun when they get outside of their comfort zone and some people don't have fun outside their comfort zone, either one is ok. In most situations I recommend woking on the skills for a particular task until you know instictively you can put it all together then your ready.

Actually you are looking very good in that video, just need a tiny bit more throttle. Seat time and more jumping at different tracks, like everyone has said so far, will help a lot. I did an amateur SX track for the first time in January when I was in PHX for the AMA SX race. Ended up clearing almost everything, and I'm not super confident on "gap" jumps.

lol at that track, though. Is that as big as it is? Like 4 or 5 turns?

I am clearing it on most attempts now Thanks for the advice. Lots of people of suggested to keep the Rpms up more. The more wound I keep it , the easier the back end brakes loose? What is the best way to over come this, Body position? More seat time?

the back end will always want to break loose with a lot of sudden RPMs, mostly noticeable in loose dirt/low traction situations. If it's in a corner with a berm, to go faster, you need to lean more. Really push into that berm. Very similar with a nice rut, too. Really be on the front of the bike in the attack position, inside leg out by the front tire (not just dangling down) to weight the front end, and keep the speed up.

Flat turns require more body english. Weight the outside peg by pushing down on it with your foot. It won't feel like it helps, but it really does. Keep your body weight centered on the bike, watching Supercross (lots of flat slippery turns) you will notice the fast guys have their foot on the peg and the inside leg out (more towards the center, not out near the front like in a regular turn) and the bike leaned under them. They really sit down on the top of the seat to keep it planted. Watch Dungey do it:



vs. a berm/rutted corner:



You'll also notice the guys "flat tracking" quite a bit because of the rear tire traction you were talking about.

Another tip: use the clutch to modulate the power to the rear wheel, not the throttle. Chopping or gassing the throttle abruptly shifts weight as well as changes how the wheels is accelerating. Going from accelerating to decelerating (or vice versa) is a lot more to deal with than simply going from accelerating to coasting (by using the clutch). It's easier on you to handle the weight and balance of the bike in that scenario.

Sorry for the long post. Wish I could find better images, too, but those will work for now.

Thanks for the tip and the pics I started really focusing on weight the out side pegs today and it made a huge difference. I just need to keep working on it till it becomes a normal reaction.

Great! That's the goal. Now just remember when you're out riding that while it is (and should be!) fun, you need to practice those good habits to really make it second nature.